The Associated Press
 AP/The Salt Lake Tribune, Danny Chan La Firefighters hike in to help fight the wildfire north of Roosevelt, Utah, Sunday. |
NEOLA, Utah — Fire authorities want to let a wildfire that has killed three people and charred 62 square miles continue burning to clear out dead trees in a national forest, and one official said Tuesday that it might continue for the rest of the season.
Some small communities in the area of northeastern Utah still were under a mandatory evacuation.
“We might have fire out there on that mountain this whole summer,’' said Kim Martin, incident commander.
Since Friday, when three people were killed, the fire has burned nearly 40,000 acres, about one-third in the Ashley National Forest and the rest on private and public land and the Uintah and Ouray Indian reservations.
The fire is burning about 100 miles east of Salt Lake City, and officials said Monday evening that it was about 10 percent contained. It grew by nearly 8 square miles overnight, but most of the expansion was away from communities, officials said.
Gov. Jon Huntsman toured the fire Tuesday and said he was pleased with the progress made in protecting homes.
“We’ve had a difficult and a traumatic few days,’' he told reporters. “Some states get hurricanes, some get tornadoes. We get wildfires, and they are no different in terms of devastating consequences.’'
He deployed 100 National Guard troops Monday to enforce road blocks and assist local police.
Parts of the forest and several roads leading to the fire were closed to the public. It’s unclear how many buildings have burned, and the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
Low humidity and temperatures in the 90s helped the fire grow. Those conditions were expected to remain throughout the week.